Unification
by Naruto Uzumaki7
Summary: Izuku is approached by a mysterious figure who offers him information on the whereabouts of his long lost father. But, to gain his interest, Izuku must take five of his trusted friends to an illegal underground tournament and win the whole thing. After gaining his teachers' hesitant approval following shocking news, Izuku heads towards learning why his father left. IzuOcha
1. An Offer You Can't Refuse

Disclaimer: Don't own My Hero Academia.

Author's Note: This is my first venture into the My Hero Academia fandom. After catching up on the series, I think it's safe to say that this is my favorite ongoing series at the moment. As such, since I need to polish up on my battle scenes, I might as well use the loveable characters here as practice.

You can say this takes place sometime after Chapter 98 of the Manga right before they go to the License Exam.

Hope you enjoy it!

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Chapter 1 - An Offer You Can't Refuse

* * *

Izuku Midoriya was out on his nighttime jog around the outer walls of the dorm campus. Jogging was something he regularly started doing following meeting All-Might and, with Aizawa's permission, he was allowed to keep it up so long as he stayed within the boundaries of the campus. The time out and away from the dorms was a good opportunity for him to clear his mind of any issues he had swirling in there. Ever since All-Might's fight with All-For-One and letting him know that everything that came after was now all up to him, Izuku wasn't having the easiest time sleeping with that heavy weight clamping down on his psyche every time he had two seconds to himself.

He knew All-Might's powers wouldn't have long left, but he didn't think it'd be this soon. He hoped it would be longer. He wasn't ready, especially not after witnessing what was most likely a glimpse into his future. If he had to do that, then he needed to start working even harder than he already was.

Stopping for a second under a streetlight to catch his breath, he took a second to appreciate the clear night sky. The smell of the wind was a nice aroma to inhale; it gave him a feeling of relaxation he only felt when he was hanging out with his friends.

"It's a nice sight, isn't it?"

Izuku jumped at the sudden voice. He fumbled over his feet as he adjusted himself in the direction of the voice talking to him. Standing against the streetlight was a guy with ghost white hair, scale-like tan skin, and brown eyes silted upwards. He had a dark blue sweater and gray sweatpants on. Strangely, he had no shoes or socks on.

"I-I-yeah," he nodded quickly, flustered at being taken off guard. The stranger nodded at him. He bore a bemused smile at Izuku's embarrassment. Izuku, on edge after many recent events, shifted his body in the direction to the front entrance of the dormitory, ready to move. His student ID would allow him entrance with no alarms going off. He couldn't say the same for this guy. A stranger hanging out right on the outside of UA's new dormitory that was built to protect the students, coupled with the strong likelihood of All-Might's final hurrah giving villains funny ideas, Izuku wasn't taking any chances on this guy.

"You don't have to be jumpy, Midoriya." He said his name casually, as if they were old friends that knew each other as long as he knew Bakugo. Izuku tried to hide his shock at this guy knowing his name, but immediately knew he failed when the man gave him another bemused smile. "I'm a friend. We actually met once before."

Izuku's head went through his a timeframe of his life trying to find the right spot where he could've possibly met this guy. He had a very vivid outline of everything that happened from the day he learned he was Quirkless onwards; it had to have been beforehand... if this guy was being truthful anyway.

Not coming up with anything, Izuku just shook his head, "S-Sorry, sir. I don't remember you." He gave an embarrassed laugh, rubbing the back of his head as he inched closer to the entrance. Now, if he needed to run, Full Cowl and a good jump backwards would save him.

"I'm not surprised," the stranger returned his laugh. "You were... I wanna say two, maybe three..." He thought over, perking up his lips in aggravation as he tried to give Izuku the right number, hoping he'd jog his memory. He sighed in defeat, "Anyway, you were with your dad."

Izuku clamped up when his dad was mentioned. He hadn't seen him in thirteen years and haven't brought him up in ten. His mom gave him his answer about working abroad when he was six and his friends never asked. Hearing this random guy bring him up in a casual tone had Izuku forgetting his escape plan when the stranger stepped closer to him.

"Kinda weird, huh?" He said sympathetically, brushing a kind hand over Izuku's shoulder. "Having your estranged old man brought up by some guy you don't even remember."

"You knew him?" Izuku finally found his voice. His reasoned thought told him that it didn't matter. He didn't need to know anything about his dad, much less from some guy. He made it this far without him. But, that childlike curiosity and those buried questions that never found a chance to surface, made their way up to Izuku's head, taking him over completely.

"Knew? I do know him." He revealed, laughing at Izuku's use of past tense verbs. He was almost scolding him in a sense.

Izuku's mind shattered hearing that. His curiosity became too much. His eyes took on a new light to them, basking with a joyful and happy tone he hadn't had since meeting All-Might for the first time and being told he can become a hero.

"You do?"

"Yeah. That's actually why I came looking for you." The stranger said. He led Izuku over to a small stone wall that surrounded someone's home. They both sat on the ground in front of it, staring at UA's dormitory. Izuku watched as he kicked a rock back and forth between his two bare feet. "Before I say anything, any questions you have I'll be more than happy to answer to the best of my ability..." He kicked the rock away. "Fire away, Izuku."

Izuku's mouth opened; he had thirteen years worth of pent-up questions ready.

"Do you know where my dad is?"

"Yes."

"Is he alive?"

"Yes."

"Do you know why he never contacted me or Mom?"

"No."

"Do you know what he's been up to all these years?"

The stranger hesitated, "Yes."

Izuku caught the slow answer. "What is it?"

"That goes with what I'm gonna tell you and why I'm here." He explained. "Any more questions?"

Just one, "Can you bring me to him?" His voice cracked despite his small hopeful smile and he was sure that his eyes were gonna start getting wet. The hope now that he may actually get a chance to meet his dad after so long - it was a lot to process. His body was almost shaking with excitement.

The stranger ignored his question, "Listen, Izuku..." He stood up. "The reason why I'm here is quite simple..." Izuku noticed he stood in his path towards the entrance. "Your father is here in the city." Izuku clamped up. "He's working with me and wanted me to see you first to make sure you wouldn't run or attack him for not being there all these years."

"I won't!" Izuku stood up. "I wanna see him! Please, sir! Tell him!"

"It's not that simple, kid." The stranger sighed. "We have a lot of work going on right now and there's not a lot of time left for things to get done. Quite frankly, the only way you'll see your dad is if you come with me to where we are."

"Then let's go!" Izuku pleaded.

"I may haven't been clear when talking about your father. He works for me and has for the past thirteen years. He's a middle rank worker for my crew. He does what I tell him and I decide whether or not he gets a reward for his work. He's a good worker, but not that good. The only reason I'm even here is because of the stories surrounding you."

Izuku felt his anticipation shift over to unease at seeing him get antsy.

"I've seen your fights in the Sports Festival and have heard from sources that you're the one who took out Muscular." Izuku flinched at remembering that grueling fight. "Definitely impressive, but I still wanna see more." He stared off down the street. Izuku took a ready pose. "Don't even try to run,"

Izuku didn't oblige his warning, entering Full Cowl 5% and heading for the door. He was rewarded with a kick to the face that sent him back to the wall he was previously sitting by.

"It's rude to interrupt people when talking, Midoriya." He scolded. Izuku stayed slouching by the wall, fear lacing his eyes with sweat slowly falling down his cheek. "As I was saying - you do have a lot of potential for us and our group, but I need to see more. There's a special event taking place in two days time. It's called the Crimson Tournament."

Izuku gasped. He's heard of this before from many Pro Heroes who have interrupted the festivities, but changing locations and different sponsors kept it from being permanently shut down. It was a underground tournament where anything went; killing being a common factor in these things from both the fighters and the audiences.

"I want you to gather a team of six, including yourself, and meet back here at midnight in two days. Use your Class 1-A friends. I'm curious as to how the new generation of heroes will fare against these groups of lunatics."

"No," Izuku stood up, giving his best glare to the stranger in front of him. He would never subjugate his friends to danger for the father he hasn't seen in years. He wasn't that invested in seeing him. Plus, their records would be tainted forever and they could kiss being a Hero goodbye. "Thank you for telling me about my dad, but I think I'm satisfied with what you told me already." He walked past him to the entrance to the dorms, relaxing considerably after crossing the fence. He was home free.

"Shame..." He said as Izuku walked away. "Also really sad to hear about what happened with your mother..."

Izuku stopped mid-step, turning back to see the stranger was staring at him with a sympathetic glance. Izuku felt his heart begin to beat rapidly against his ribcage. His glare failed to stay on his face, instead dissolving into a fearful expression with teary eyes and fast breathing.

"What'd you do to my mom?" Izuku barely got the question out.

"I'll see you here in two days, Izuku. I'll escort your team to the tournament."

"You bastard..." Izuku gritted his teeth at being ignored. Seeing him walk away, Izuku flipped, activating Full Cowl again and charging him. "What'd you do!?"

The stranger side stepped Midoriya like if he was an amateur, pinning him between his bare foot and the cold ground. Izuku tried kicking his feet to gain some momentum to push himself up, but was pathetically kicking the air like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. The frustration of it all made Izuku start to cry.

"It's not nice to call others name, Midoriya. My name is Honé. Best to remember it - we'll be spending time together if you're impressive enough."

"I'll never work with you, Dad's boss or not!"

Honé pressed his foot deeper into Izuku's skull, the young man gripping the ground in an effort to relieve some of the pain.

"Don't say things you don't mean." Honé warned. He let his foot go from Izuku's head. After his last two attempts to run and fight was met with being pushed around like a paralyzed person, Izuku didn't attempt to throw a hit. He didn't even move from his spot on the ground. "See you in two days, kid. If not, then maybe you should start considering yourself an orphan."

Izuku choked on his sobs.

"And I better not see anybody more than your six man team when I come back..."

Honé walked away, leaving Izuku to lay there in defeat. He got up twenty seconds later before rushing back to the dormitory, taking off in the direction of the teachers' quarters.

"Aizawa-sensei!"

* * *

"We couldn't find any signs of forced entry,"

Aizawa sat at the desk in the staff meeting room. Izuku sat across from him with Toshinori, he didn't want to be called All-Might anymore when he couldn't even be a Hero, consulting the young boy, who was crying up a storm after receiving news that this Honé wasn't bluffing. Nedzu sat at the head of the table with Midnight, Snipe, Cementoss, Present Mic, and Tsukauchi taking up a few of the other seats.

After Izuku came rushing to his room and informed him what had happened, Aizawa had immediately gone to informing the other teachers what Izuku had told him before asking the police to check on the Midoriya household. Now it was approaching midnight before they got any news back from the investigators.

Tsukauchi continued, "Nothing is missing, nothing is broken, everything is neatly in place, and there were no signs of a scuffle. Seems like your mom simply opened the door and left. Even the door was locked."

Izuku nodded slowly, sinking deeper into Toshinori's hold, who looked extremely guilty at being helpless. Aizawa picked up what that look meant.

"Don't blame yourself, All-Might." Old habits died hard. "This was gonna happen whether or not you still had access to your powers."

Toshinori nodded, "I know. But it doesn't make it any easier to hear."

Aizawa agreed. Even though he was still angry at his class' reckless behavior in going after Bakugo, he didn't like seeing any of them in pain, much less one that was as polite as Midoriya was. After this, Izuku wasn't going jogging without a supervisor, if at all.

"We couldn't find any information on this Honé person," Nedzu spoke up. "We cross checked his name with the description Izuku gave us and nothing matched the database of Heroes, Villains, or Civilians."

"We even checked Izuku's father's records for any clues." Tsukauchi said. Izuku didn't respond to his statement. "There's nothing there except information on his old insurance sales job, which Izuku was kind enough to confirm remembering his dad working as." Izuku nodded again in an unnecessary second confirmation.

"So simply put, we're stuck." Midnight groaned.

"Not stuck, just strained for time." Aizawa inputted. "With enough time, we'd be able to find Honé and Midoriya's mother, but that two day window is what's holding us back."

"We know when he'll be back," Present Mic reminded. "So, we have Snipe hide out on the roofs nearby and shoot him in the legs. Then we could capture him." Snipe nodded his agreement to that plan.

"And he specifically said if he sees anyone other than Midoriya and his team, he'd do something to his mother." Aizawa said. "That's too big of a risk for us to mess up and get his mother killed."

"So what do we do then, Aizawa?" Snipe asked.

"Present Mic is right in saying that we know when he'll be back," Aizawa stated. "Plus, we do know that this Crimson Tournament goes on for five days at least, right Tsukauchi?"

"That's what our old reports say." He nodded.

"That gives us one week, five more days than we have right now. We use that timeframe to search for Midoriya's mother. She has to be with Honé, and since Midoriya's father is with him, that gives us proof that he's in the city somewhere. We can search this whole city in one week easily with enough Heroes working the case."

"Yes, that is true." Nedzu agreed. "But that is only if Midoriya and five other students fight in the tournament." Aizawa said nothing.

"Aizawa, you can't be serious..." Toshinori stood up in bewilderment. Aizawa paid him no mind. "Risking the lives of six of our students?"

"I'm working with the cards I have, All-Might." He groaned. "I don't like this plan, far from it. I'd fight myself if he didn't specifically say Class 1-A, but we don't have that luxury of playing on our own terms."

"You know how dangerous this tournament gets!" He reminded. "One year, they eradicated the entire train station they were at and two blocks around it!"

"So, you wanna gamble everything on us finding Midoriya's mother in the two days from now until Honé comes back?" He asked frustrated.

"It's a long shot, but-"

"And what if we need three days, or four? How are you gonna explain that one to your apprentice when he sees his mother's corpse again, if he even gets that chance."

Izuku stiffened, letting out a small sob. Toshinori immediately sat back down to comfort him.

"Eraserhead..." Present Mic quietly said.

"I'm just telling it like it is..." Aizawa sighed. He glanced at Midoriya and the more he saw this boy crumble, the more he wished he was able to be part of the team. He'd fight every battle himself and not even let the others touch foot in the arena. By the looks of the others, they'd do the same - even the powerless All-Might.

They all sat in silence for a few minutes, unsure of what to say now.

"Won't the kids be in a lot of hot water if they compete in this thing?" Toshinori finally asked.

"If Midoriya would've ran off again, then yeah, but he came straight to us." Aizawa said. "I'll take full responsibility for anything that happens. If they want my License afterwards, then they can have it."

"That won't be necessary, Eraserhead." Nedzu waved him off. "And no, they won't be in trouble. What else can they do at a time like this? They didn't ask for this. It's just like Katsuki's kidnapping and having to fight off the League of Villains. It's a set of circumstances that we're working with."

Everyone nodded. They'd all take responsibility for this if they had to if anyone has a problem with it.

"I'll fight..."

Izuku stood up, his eyes glistening with both tears and a strong determination. His teachers stared at him in surprise.

"I'll fight this tournament on my own."

"No you won't," Aizawa stated firmly. "I know you don't want to put your friends in danger, Midoriya, but I noticed that you seem to like to shoulder everything so they don't get hurt. While that's a sign of a hero, it makes it seem like you don't trust them enough to help you."

Izuku shook his head rapidly, "That's not true!"

"Then let's pick out five people who will be of the most help to you."

"This is my problem, Sensei."

"You go off on your own, and, if by some miracle Honé even allows you to still compete, what do you want me to tell the class when your corpse shows up however long later? You didn't trust them enough to help you? Or you thought they were too weak to be of any help?"

"Aizawa..." Toshinori glared. "Stop..."

Izuku stood there baffled at his teacher's words. He was right. His anguish at his mother being taken by his father's boss was messing up his thinking. Aizawa-sensei's words were rough, but he was just looking out for him - for him and his mother. The more he thought about it, Izuku doubted Honé would've allowed him to compete alone. He laid his terms out and he specifically said to bring five others with him. If it were just him, then he'd have grabbed him right then and there.

But still, it couldn't be for Izuku's sake that he wanted others with him. Something was amiss; something he'd only get the answers for by fighting in the tournament and buying his teachers and Pro-Heroes more time to find his mother.

Nodding, Izuku sat back down, "I have a few candidates in mind for my team..."

Aizawa nodded relieved. Being this rough on Midoriya in what was possibly the most difficult time of his life was not doing wonders for his sanity.

"Who?" He asked in the kindest tone he could muster. He was about to assemble a team of his students to fight in the most dangerous of fights that was possible outside of city endangering events. He needed to be as calm as he could be.

It was gonna be a long week.

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End of Chapter 1

There's a lot going to happen here, so I hope you all stay on board to witness everything unfold. Think of this as something akin to the Dark Tournament in Yu-Yu-Hakusho. What better way to practice my fight scenes than with a tournament?

Izuku's team will be revealed next chapter. I'm gonna have lots of fun with this team.

We'll also have a subplot of the remnants of Class 1-A helping out at the Tournament while the pros look for Honé. It's going to be a packed story and it's gonna be a blast.

Hope you review and tune in next time.

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Next Chapter - Team Midoriya


	2. Team Midoriya

Disclaimer: Don't own My Hero Academia

Author's Note: Thanks so much to everyone who left a review, followed, and gave the story a favorite. It brings a smile to my face when I see those messages pop up in my inbox.

I hope you like the team I picked for Izuku. Like I said before, it's gonna be a joy to work with these main fighters.

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Chapter 2 - Team Midoriya

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"So Midoriya needs help from you guys."

Aizawa had just finished briefing the entirety of Class 1-A on the current situation, everyone sitting in the common room on the floor and couches whilst he and Midoriya stood in front of everyone. It was around seven in the morning and he and Midoriya had gotten exactly zero hours of sleep. They had come up with a bunch of different lists of teams for Midoriya to take with him in the tournament, finally settling on a certain one after much back and forth discussion.

Even amongst picking his teammates, Aizawa had told him that it would be best to have a second group of three or five other Class 1-A students to have there as their eyes and ears to see if they can act as recon for the event. If it would be like all of the other Crimson Tournaments of the past, then it was gonna be held in a remote location far away from any semblance of civilization and contact with the general public. They'd need some way of keeping in contact with Izuku and the others in case they needed to get to them or pull them out once they found his mother.

Izuku, although hesitant at dragging more of his friends in his problems than necessary, saw the rationality of his teacher's suggestion. If anything, he'd trust his judgement as a pro.

Now he just hoped that the five he picked as his teammates agreed to help.

Izuku watched in tensity as his classmates processed what was just explained to them. He stood next to Aizawa the whole time, only nodding his confirmation to anything that the Pro Hero explained to them. The whole time he kept no eye contact with anyone, scared he'd break down from the many stares before he got out what he had to get out.

Although, his eyes did find themselves glancing over towards the five of his classmates he was hesitantly dragging into his troubles.

"What is it that Midoriya needs?" He heard Iida speak up from the middle of the room. "Whatever it is, I'll do my best to be of assistance."

"There's no way I'm going to leave Deku-kun on his own during such a horrible time." Ochako piped up from the front. Izuku turned red at seeing her worried face.

"Me too!" Kirishima nodded. "There's no way that I'm just going to leave one of my fellow classmates and friends to rescue his mother on his own! That's not manly at all!"

"I'll help the best I can..." Todoroki nodded from the back of the room. Everyone afterwards started voicing their desire to help him in his time of need, saying that it was their duty not only as aspiring heroes, but as Izuku's friends even more so.

Except Bakugo, he kept quiet the entire speech.

Izuku stared in surprise at his friends' rallying cries. He felt Aizawa's 'I told you so' look burning into the side of his skull. Now came the moment of truth now that everyone was hyped up. Aizawa agreed to explain the situation while Midoriya actually asked his teammates; he would be able to explain his reasonings for wanting them better than he can.

"Before we continue, have any of you heard of the Crimson Tournament?"

Confused looks littered most of the room. The only ones who raised their hands were Bakugo and Todoroki.

"That's that underground tournament where people illegally use their Quirks to fight for prizes, right?" Todoroki asked for confirmation. The class dissolved into murmurs at his statement. Aizawa nodded, "My father arrested someone that was in one of those tournaments a few years back. He told me stories about that event to try and persuade me from ever acting out. I guess it was his way of trying to keep me from being a delinquent."

"One of my old acquaintances from my shitty school before here had gotten the link to watch the event live." Bakugo explained. "I watched some of it with him until an attack killed one of the idiots in the arena."

Gasps escaped the majority of the students' jaws.

"People d-die at this?" Ochako stuttered. She reached out and grabbed at Tsuyu's hand for comfort when she saw her grow agitated at the revelation.

"I guess that's why it's underground..." Yaoyorozu said with her eyes darted down towards the ground in bewilderment. They shouldn't be surprised at this point after all they've seen and dealt with, but the deeper they got in their heroic studies, the darker the world got.

The other students were either staring at the ground, the wall, or the ceiling aghast at the whole thing. Seeing this, Izuku's resolve wavered in asking them to compete in this thing where death was a high probability. Aizawa held his hand in front of Izuku to hold him in place.

"They stream it?" Aizawa asked Bakugo. That was new to him. New ideas started forming in his head, briefly casting his lazy eye in Kaminari's direction.

"I guess..." Bakugo shrugged. "Anyway, what does that shitty event have to do with Deku anyway?"

Izuku glanced off to the side uncomfortablely. Aizawa moved his hand to Izuku's shoulder, adjusting him so he stared at his class, who were all looking back at him in confusion or curiosity.

"This Honé guy told Midoriya to fight in this tournament and win to save his mother."

That bit of info had everyone, Bakugo included, staring in shock.

"Huh!?" Iida's eyes widened behind his glasses, the temples widening alongside them.

"Come again!?" Kirishima, Sero, and Kaminari all said in perfect unity.

"Midoriya!?" Most of the others exclaimed.

Bakugo and Todoroki stayed silent.

"What!?" Ochako jumped up. "Why!? Why does Deku have to fight in this barbaric event!?" Her heart started smashing into her ribcage at rhythms so quick she wasn't sure if even using her Quirk to lighten herself up would have any effect.

Izuku blushed greatly at her worried tone, "H-he didn't say why. He just told me that I had to do it... or I wouldn't see my mother again..." He lowered his head, remembering Honé's departing words to him about the whole thing. Even if he didn't have to pick his team himself, he was sure those words would've kept him up all night.

"Deku..." Ochako wanted to go closer and give him a hug, but Aizawa-sensei was clear when he said nobody moved until he and Izuku were done explaining everything.

Aizawa gripped Izuku's shoulder. Here it comes. "Not just him..." Everyone sat up straight. "He told him to take five of you with him to act as his team..."

Silence littered the room. The class' eyes stayed widened at the new revelation. Izuku shut his eyes at the silence, waiting to hear what their responses would be. He stiffened when he got no response, unsure of whether that was good or bad. Finally, after allowing some time to pass on by, he opened them back up to see everyone staring back at him.

"Why us?" Ochako asked.

"Again, he never said anything to Midoriya on why. He just told him to get five of you to fight with him." Everyone looked at each other. "I know what you're thinking and no, you won't get in trouble with any officials for fighting in this tournament. We got the clearance from all higher ups. Anybody that chooses to participate won't face any repercussions from the law for fighting in the tournament."

Izuku watched everyone share looks with each other. He bit his lip in anticipation. After a few moments of silent communication, the whole class turned to Izuku.

"Who do you need?" Kirishima asked.

"Whoever you pick, we know that it's for a reason." Yaoyorozu nodded.

"You're a smart guy, Midoriya." Iida stated. "Whatever team you construct, it'll be the best one for the situation!"

"We're all ready to fight," Ojiro gestured to the entire room. "Just pick and choose who you feel will benefit you the most."

Everyone sans Bakugo nodded in agreement.

Izuku gasped happily, "You guys..." Again, he felt Aizawa's 'I told you so' face peer into his side. He wanted to punch himself for doubting them. He felt horrible for thinking that any of them would say no, even if he wouldn't hold it against them and would understand if they declined his request. He felt a new burst of confidence rise to the surface.

"Before Midoriya asks, just know that you're not obligated to participate if you don't feel like you can or if you're scared." Aizawa explained, feeling he needed to give the kids an out just in case. This was a heavy and delicate situation. Nobody gave signs of wavering.

Izuku pulled out a folded piece of paper, "I just wanna start by saying that I thought all night about this team. I went through dozens and dozens of possibilities with Aizawa-sensei on which combination of our Quirks would be the best possible way to win this tournament..."

Everyone nodded.

"I suppose I should begin with the one person who was in every team I constructed: Todoroki..."

The aforementioned boy stood up at being addressed.

"You're without a doubt the strongest in the class..." Bakugo's scoff went ignored. "You have two very powerful Quirks that play off of each other really well and have a certain degree of mastery over both of them that will be vital in being the front line of our team. You and I worked together many times to fight off against other opponents in the past, particularly Hosu City..."

He nodded.

"You're also level headed and can examine others really well, which is important considering the kind of environment we'll be going into. Your input on the situation and others will be vital in keeping ourselves alive..." He made eye contact. "Will you join me?"

"You don't even have to ask," he gave a small smile. Izuku returned it.

"Speaking of Hosu City, that leads me to my second choice: Iida."

The class representative nodded, following Todoroki's example and standing up with a determined gleam in his eyes.

"We've been friends since I started here at UA. We have experience working with one another with Todoroki. Your Engine Quirk gives us Speed on top of power, and like Todoroki, you're a very smart person. You can come up with plans for any situation we will undoubtedly come across. You can also act cool under pressure..." He paused briefly to glance back at Aizawa, "When we were going to save Kacchan, you stopped me from acting out and charging All-For-One." Iida nodded, remembering holding Midoriya down after the blast that ripped apart lots of pro heroes. "We need that level headedness in this chaotic environment."

"Will you join my team?"

"I'd be honored to do so, Midoriya!" Iida replied with his usual enthusiasm. Izuku almost chuckled. This was going way better than he thought.

"My third pick..." He hesitated for this one. "Uraraka..."

Surprised at being chosen, she stumbled while picking herself up.

"Your Quirk is especially useful for this situation. Ring Outs, although not preferred for this tournament, is still viable. You put up a good fight against Kacchan in the Sports Festival. Speaking of, we were part of the same team for the Cavalry Battle - so we have that experience working together. You also have great reflexes, being able to hold off and briefly pin down a member of the League of Villains."

She blushed at the praise, twirling a strand of her hair in her finger. A few of the classmates smirked knowingly.

"You're very perspective and, as you showed during your fight with Kacchan, you know how to plan ahead for situations."

Izuku blushed as he thought of what to say next, "You're one of my best friends and I trust you completely." Both of their faces took on matching shades of red. "Will you join my team?"

She nodded quickly, "Of course! I hope I'm a big help!"

Izuku almost let out his trademark large gusher of tears, settling for the large blush and grin on his face instead. He actually hadn't been expecting for Uraraka to accept his offer, more so for his peace of mind rather than a lack of faith in her. His heart accelerated in a mix of fear for her safety, happiness that she agreed to help him, embarrassment at most likely looking like a fool, and something else he couldn't quite pinpoint a title to.

"Thank you!" He responded with way too much enthusiasm. His enthusiasm had Ochako grinning, rubbing a hand behind her head as she sported a matching, but much smaller, blush. Izuku realized how loud he was being, recoiling in shock and bewilderment at his tone of his voice. The majority of the class either laughed or smirked at them. He hid his face behind his piece of paper. "Ummm, o-okay. The n-next person I decided is: Tokoyami!"

The boy with the bird's head stood up. In the back of the room, Bakugo's eye twitched.

"Like with Uraraka, we worked together at the Sports Festival and you were the reason we won." Ochako nodded in agreement, remembering Dark Shadow snagging the headband from Todoroki that cinched their placement in the Finals. "We have that same teamwork experience. Your Quirk is extremely useful and powerful; having a second being in you is handy in a multitude of situations. Situations that we'll undoubtedly find ourselves in. Also, if we're lucky, this arena will be in a dark underground area - which will power up Dark Shadow."

Tokoyami nodded. He just hoped it wouldn't be too dark. Although that would make a good last resort.

"So, will you join me?"

"Of course, Midoriya." He nodded slowly, bowing his head after. "It'd be an honor."

Izuku was ecstatic. Things were going great. Although, with the last person he had in mind, he was unsure how this would go. Catching his breath, he steeled his anxiety with a strong stare in Bakugo's direction, catching his old friend's attention.

He scoffed, "Oh, now you wanna pick me?" He asked. The entire ordeal, although it annoyed him as to why, he was waiting to be called up for Deku's little rescue team. He didn't expect to be first, or even second. But last? The fuck!?

"Of course! You're strong, Kacchan! You always have been! Your Quirk is very powerful and you yourself are a genius! You're one of the toughest ones in the class and you have perhaps even more experience fighting these kinds of fights than the rest of us!"

Bakugo kept glaring at him.

"And with this environment, that ruthlessness of yours will be right at home and of use for us!"

"Bakugo's anger problems might actually keep the other teams from messing with them." Kirishima joked.

"What'd you say, Hard Asshole!" Bakugo yelled.

"Point proven!" Tsuyu said.

"No one asked you, Frog Bitch! And who said I'd help fucking Deku!? Aizawa said that we could choose not to help of we feel like we can't or are scared!"

The rest of the class stared at Bakugo in disbelief, but no one more than his would be teammates. They all thought that even a angry person like him would decide to help Izuku out given the circumstances. He was at this school to be a hero and this was part of a clear and cut rescue mission. Izuku was staring in shock and hurt. He thought that, maybe, just this once, he and Kacchan could work together despite their differences. Apparently Aizawa thought the same thing since he was staring right at Bakugo disapprovingly.

"So, you're admitting you're scared?" He asked. Izuku looked surprised at Aizawa's statement. Aizawa shook his head at Izuku, holding him back from intervening.

"Wha? No!" Bakugo exclaimed, appalled Aizawa would even suggest that.

"Are you saying you're weak?"

"Hell no!"

"Then why can't you help out Midoriya? I thought you came to this school to be a hero?" He asked. Bakugo opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when he both couldn't find a good answer and was greeted with a challenging glare from Aizawa. He could see the bandages around the teacher's neck start to move and Bakugo had to admit, even if only to himself, that he was a little frightened. Bakugo, begrudgingly, stood up with the other team members that he would be fighting in the Crimson Tournament in.

"I get the strong opponents..." Bakugo stated. If he was gonna be stuck helping out Deku of all people, he was gonna get a workout.

Izuku gasped happily. "Sure! Thanks Kacchan!"

"Fuck off..."

Class 1-A looked back and forth between the six person team. The only ones who showed any visible signs of fear were Uraraka and Izuku, but they still stood tall and ready. The other four boys were looking determined to get going and everyone could feel the confidence and determination radiate off them. It was so intense even those from the class who had their doubts felt more comfortable with the situation after soaking in some of that confidence and determination for themselves.

Aizawa examined the chosen students. Midoriya had picked a good team and he agreed with all his reasons for doing so. He doubted he could've picked a better team... and he was about to see for himself if that was the case.

"There's one more thing..." Aizawa said. All students looked back to him, even Izuku. "I don't like what I'm about to say, but... something came to mind when Bakugo mentioned the tournament is streamed..."

"What is it, Sensei?" Izuku asked, worried he missed something important. Aizawa waved a hand lazily at Izuku, making him ease up a little bit.

"We need one more team..." He begrudgingly stated, much to his students' shock.

* * *

Two days passed by too quickly for all their liking. Team Midoriya had spent the two days doing some crash course training to get in shape. They didn't make groundbreaking progress, but their bodies were warmed up and ready to go for whatever it was that they had to do. They had discussions on what their plans would be, and after hearing Bakugo repeat himself over and over on how he'll fight all the tough ones without any of their help, they just decided that they'd do the best they could.

It was 11:57 PM and Honé was standing outside UA Dormitory in the same spot where he and Izuku had their tussle a few nights back. He was wearing shoes this time, along with a dark green jumpsuit. He stood patiently outside the walls, waiting for Izuku and, hopefully, his team to show up. He'd hate to cut this whole thing short just because the boy was either too shy or stubborn to get others onboard.

He heard footsteps behind him. Turning his head, he looked to see six figures approaching his direction. He spotted Izuku in the middle with others that he recognized from the Sports Festival; he was thrilled he had gotten the top four finalists to be a part of his team. This was gonna be a fun Crimson Tournament.

Izuku wore a bright green sweater with black jeans, a bird resting on his shoulder. Bakugo wore a blood red shirt with faded blue jeans and white baseball cap that was on backwards. Iida wore a dark blue short sleeved button up shirt with brown shorts. Todoroki wore a short sleeved black shirt with dark blue jeans. Tokoyami was wearing a long sleeved gray button up shirt and blue jeans. Ochako wore a pink sweater with black lines going down the left and right side of each sleeve with her school skirt and black leggings with white sneakers. They all had determined stares on their faces.

Honé examined them and nodded. "Interesting team, Midoriya."

Izuku glared at him, waving off the bird that was on his shoulder. "Let's get this over with."

Honé shrugged, "Sure... Spring!" Landing from a nearby rooftop was a well toned long blond haired young man with springs as feet. He had a backpack with many straps. Izuku and Ochako stared in wonderment while the rest of their team stared in disinterest. "Take us to the arena..."

"Yes, sir. Everyone, grab on." Everybody grabbed the back of Spring's backpack. He tugged on his backpack to make sure it was tight. "Hang on!" He jumped so high, Izuku was experiencing deja vu from the first time he met All-Might. Against their flapping jaws and strained eyes, the UA students swallowed whatever last minute fear they had. It was too late to go back now.

The bird that was on Izuku's shoulder followed them a good ways to wherever it was they were going. Once the crew flew over to the edge of the city and kept going, the bird flew back towards the direction in which they came.

Back at UA Dormitory, stepping out of the darkness of the wall was Kouda. The bird from earlier flew back down to him when he waved a hand over to it. He whispered a few words to it before he let it fly off.

Behind him stepped out Kaminari, Kirishima, Yaoyorozu, Ashido, Hagakure and Tsuyu, all wearing disguises that Yaoyorozu created in similar fashion to the ones she made for the team that went to rescue Bakugo. Aizawa followed right behind them with the rest of Class 1-A behind him.

"What did the bird say?" Aizawa asked Kouda. Kouda signed a few words to Aizawa. He nodded, "There's only one island out there... Urameshi Island." He looked to the six kids wearing disguises. "Urameshi Island is a desolated island about two miles east of Hoshi Harbor. Getting there isn't gonna be easy, and it's likely you'll encounter the same kind of people Midoriya and the others are gonna fight. Do not, and I repeat, do not engage anybody in combat. Doing so will jeopardize the others and our attempt to find Midoriya's mother. This is purely stealth."

They nodded.

"Your job is to simply keep an eye on the others and update us on any changes that we may need to know. Kaminari, you especially need to be focused. Mineta will have a laptop and headset in at all times. Try and stream the event so we can see ourselves."

"I won't let you down." Kaminari nodded, adjusting the headset hidden in his left ear.

"Are we allowed to make contact with Team Midoriya?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"If you can without anyone knowing, then yes, do so, but try not to risk it. Since Honé is on the island, it's possible that Midoriya's mother is there as well. Keep an eye out and see what you can figure out. It's highly likely she is there so Honé can keep her close, but we still have to look here just in case." Aizawa softened his gaze. "Most importantly, make sure all twelve of you come back alive."

"Sensei!" Kirishima and Kaminari gushed with tears that rivalled Midoriya's geyser of tears. Their compatriots laughed at their reaction.

"The rest of the class will be ready to move if need be." He nodded at them. "Good luck and get going. You need to keep up with them."

The Spy Group nodded as they took off running to keep up with Team Midoriya. The rest of Class 1-A watched them go off, turning to Aizawa, who look scared, despite doing his best to mask it with his professional 'it's just business' look. They couldn't blame him. More than half of their class had gone off on a likely suicide mission.

They just hoped they could be of help as well and that everyone came back okay.

* * *

End of Chapter 2

The tournament will begin next chapter.

And yes, it's gonna be a lot going on in the background of the tournament as well. Rescuing Izuku's mother and learning more about his father isn't all that we'll see here. Just know that all of Class 1-A will have a hard time.

Once again, thank you very much to those who reviewed, followed, and favourited. It means a lot to me.

* * *

Next Chapter - First Round Showdown Part 1


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